CBS Mystery Theater, 27 February 1975
Introduced in customarily spine-chilling
tones by E. G. Marshall, complete with squeaking door and fluttering bats, Them! was a cautionary tale of a lawyer
- significantly called Cain (Alan Hewitt) - who took matters into his own hands by kidnapping criminals acquitted of murder
in court and imprisoning them in his mansion. On one occasion he goes to far by immuring Sheldrake (Jordan Charney),
an innocent man.
The tale is a familiar one of madness leading to excess, but Himan Brown's production contains a lip-smackingly enjoyable
performance by Hewitt as Cain, complemented by Augusta Dabney as his sister, a lonely soul with only a small dog for companionship.
It is the dog that finally leads to Cain's unmasking, even though the animal remains unharmed.
Even after thirty-six years, this CBS
Mystery Theater presentation is still worth a listen; a thoroughly competent troupe of actors performing the material
with utter conviction.
